The incident took place on the English coast north of Lancaster over the weekend
The man became stuck in quicksand just along the coast from the seaside town of Morecambe. Photo: Getty
A man who was trapped in quicksand as the tide began to come in was rescued in what has been described as a “surreal close call”.
A search and rescue team were called to an incident at Silverdale on Morecambe Bay, north of the English city of Lancaster, at 11.30am on Saturday after a man got trapped in quicksand.
“Very quickly, we came across the casualty, who was lying on his back in a soft gulley,” the rescue team said.
“At first glance, only his chest, head, one arm and part of one leg were still visible.
“But because he had laid right, he was thankfully not in too deep, but completely exhausted and quite hypothermic.”
As a “big tide was rapidly pushing in to the bay”, the crew inflated two rescue air pathways to reach him, placing one behind him to prevent him sinking further and the other in front to free him carefully,” the rescuers said.
The man was safely taken out of the quicksand in a matter of minutes, and was brought onto the pathway.
He was transferred into the team’s all-terrain vehicle to warm up because he was “extremely cold and showing signs of hypothermia”.
He was wrapped in foil blankets after being assessed by a medic.
“As we left the scene, the tide had already begun to fill the gulley – a surreal reminder of just how close this call was,” a spokesperson for the rescue team said.
The man was handed over to the North West Ambulance Service for further assessment.
The spokesperson said: “This rescue was a true display of teamwork across agencies; a reminder of the co-ordination, skill and dedication that keeps our coastline safe. A huge thank you to everyone involved.”
Earlier this year, the search and rescue team told the BBC it had found more patches of quicksand this year than at any time in the last 30 years.
Quicksand is formed when sand becomes waterlogged, which can happen in tidal estuaries.